My Gurus

Damian Cruden

Damian was my Youth Theatre Director at Hull Truck when I was 13 and then later employed me at York Theatre Royal as his Youth Theatre Director when he was Artistic Director. I remember that as my Youth Theatre Leader he instilled a real rigor and discipline in us, but also allowed us to find the sense of play in any text and told us we had to be passionate and political about what we wanted to say as theatre makers. I think these are the basics I hold onto, even now. Later in my career his generosity and support to me as a young aspiring director, and continued commitment to young people and the next generation of theatre artists at York Theatre Royal, were great inspirations.